I’m typing this post from an Internet café! I had forgotten the existence of these relics…and the reason I need to use one, is because I am currently on a mini sabbatical at Mcleod Ganj.
I boarded a Himachal Tourism bus at CP, a “deluxe” non-AC Volvo. A voluminous flute of black carbon monoxide sprang out of the bus as the driver turned on the engine, the start of a somewhat tedious bus journey (hated buses). The dust and the metal on Delhi roads consumed my nostrils for the next three or four hours. The road was rocky, but the air suspension in the bus was not completely nonexistent. Sigh of relief.
The bus halted at a resort called ‘Mirchi’ somewhere in the Haryana hinterland, and a joint family of locals kept looking at me with diapproval — single girl seated at a table at 10 pm. I was least bothered, and enjoyed the soup, even though the chef forgot to inject flavour into the recipe. That’s what happens with you order Chinese food in Haryana.
This morning, I got off the bus and wandered around the streets looking for my hotel, and then decided to have breakfast at Nick’s. It’s a nice, squeaky clean place, and I ordered a a concoction of lemon, honey and ginger. The sun was shining, the trees were glistening, and the tea was comfortaing.
The service at the restaurant and all restaurants, here, is similar: the local folk move at a glacial pace (just like most people in Delhi).
The place reminds me a little of Goa, quaint, yet, a little commercial. Everyone is selling something; massages, trinkets, handbags, food, and Tibetan culture/ history. I felt happy and sad, simultaneously. Cheery, because the conifers are a site to behold and remind me of Christmas. Sad because the local folks seem so dependant on the tourists for their daily bread, those smiles can be pretty deceiving. Yet, it was an eye-opening experience about the history of Tibet, and one can see some very gory sights and documentaries at the Tibetan Museum.
I haven’t yet tasted any momos that take your breath away, like the ones served up by this tiny cart at Lajpatnagar.
A trek to Triund is on the anvil.
Tags: goa, Himachal, Lajpatnagar, Mcleod Ganj, momos, nick's, tibet, Tibetan Museum, tourism, triund, volvo
written with alot of passion